Why Sky Sports And BT Sport Will Not Show Any Premier League Football On Boxing Day
Last updated 2:47 PM, Tuesday June 11 2019 GMT+1
This year, for the first time in years, none of the top-flight Boxing Day football will be shown on BT Sport or Sky Sports.
The two TV giants once again hold the majority of the rights to show Premier League games but a year ago it emerged that Amazon struck a monumental three-year deal worth around £90 million to live stream 20 matches starting with the upcoming 2019/20 campaign.
Amazon purchased one of the remaining Premier League packages, with the electronic commerce company securing every game from the first round of midweek fixtures in December as well as all of the Boxing Day action, as per The Mirror.
It means that anyone wanting to watch any of the 10 games slated to take place on the day after Christmas will have to subscribe to Amazon Prime if they do not already pay for the service.
Apparently both Sky Sports and BT Sport will NOT be broadcasting ANY of the Boxing Day Premier League fixtures this season!
The Boxing Day games will instead be streamed exclusively on Amazon Prime! :flushed: pic.twitter.com/mUY3y2tXxu
- Footy Accumulators (@FootyAccums) June 11, 2019
Amazon Prime will show all 10 Boxing Day games next season, after beating BT Sport and Sky Sports to the rights package.
Watching football is getting more expensive by the season :flushed: pic.twitter.com/iczyaKUpB6
- Sport Social (@TheSportSocial) June 11, 2019
Amazon, who are estimated to have 100 million Prime subscribers around the world, will also show weekly highlights over the course of the season.
Jay Marine, vice president of Prime Video in Europe said: "We are always looking to add more value to Prime, and we're delighted to now offer, for the first time, live Premier League matches to Prime members at no extra cost to their membership.
"The Premier League is the most watched sports league in the world.
"Over these two December fixture rounds Prime members will be able to watch every team, every game, so no matter which Premier League team you support, you're guaranteed to see them play live on Prime Video."
And with a third entity entering the equation, it comes with an added cost for football fans. Sky Sports HD costs £46 a month, BT Sport HD is another £34.49 a month and Amazon Prime is either £79 for the year or £7.99 a month.
To break it down further, fans are looking at £88.48 a month or £796.32 for a nine month season. Clubs will generate a whole lot of money through TV revenue but fans, on the other hand, will have to shell out an absolute fortune.
Fixtures for the 2019/20 season are released on Thursday, with the Premier League season officially getting under way on 10 August.
Topics: Football News, Football, Premier League, Sky Sports, BT Sport, Amazon, amazon prime
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